About the Publication of Sefer Horodenka

By Moshe Fleshner

Translated by Yehudis Fishman

At last we, the survivors of Horodenka, a small town in East Galicia are
witnessing the publication of the Yizkor Book (a memorial book) for the martyrs
of our town and those who lived in its vicinity. This book is the outcome of a
plan that we carried in our hearts and discussed for more than fifteen years,
but were unable to bring to fruition  until today.

The delays did not arise from fundamental differences of opinion. All of us
were residents of Horodenka; we had survived years of calamity and retribution.
We felt that we were still in mourning  that we were orphans who had lost
our fathers and our mothers as well as our sisters and our brothers. Each one
of us felt that something had to be done to commemorate the martyrs of
Horodenka. We wanted to establish a worthy headstone in memory of our town
where we took our first steps, where we dared to dream of a better future and
of a free world for every human being  a world that would guarantee freedom
of expression to the Jewish people. We felt obligated to inscribe and
memorialize all those who had died, whether they were family members or
friends, individuals or entire families, even if we did not know their burial
sites.

Technical problems were the primary cause for the delay in publishing this
book. It was clear to us, the members of the committee in Israel, that the
book had to be written by Horodenkans themselves  those men and women who
witnessed the atrocities and the destruction of the town and who carried the
awful memories in their hearts. They are the only ones who could express all
this sorrow and desperation. We knew that in order to execute such a difficult
task the Horodenkans in two major centers of residence, Israel and the United
States, would have to cooperate and create an organizational infrastructure.
Last, but not the least, we had to find the financial resources needed to make
even the first step toward our goal. And we needed to take care of some basic
problems that came up during the negotiations.

First on the agenda was the issue of the language of the book. There were
those who thought that it should be published only in Yiddish, the language
that most Horodenkans spoke and the language that most Jews in Israel and the
United States, including Holocaust survivors, understand. Others objected.
They claimed that the purpose of the book was to perpetuate the memories of our
beloved ones for the next generations, and therefore the book should be written
in Hebrew, the language of our sons and daughters. There were those who
expressed their wishes to publish the book in English, for the sons and
daughters of the Horodenkans who live in the United States. Thus we concluded
that perhaps the book could be published in three languages  Hebrew, Yiddish,
and English. Opinions and positions were formed and taken. Everyone stood his
ground, trying to convince the others of the strength of his opinion.

A major problem arose at the time when we were deep in the process of creating
the book and after most of the material had already been written and all the
conflicts had been settled: Should the book serve as a memorial for the entire
community and portray a destroyed congregation with a rich social life, or
should it be a personal account, where each individual has the opportunity to
express their inner feelings and describe their dear and close ones who are
gone forever?

We corresponded for a few years with the landsmanshaft in the
United States regarding the publication of the book, but we could not reach
agreement. There were also occasions when qualified representatives from the
United States visited Israel and when members of our committee visited the
United States. But negotiations weren't useful and didn't break the ice or
overcome the frost.

Until one clear day, a Horodenka couple  Ruth and Abba Podway
(Podvoysoker) from the United States arrived in Israel. In Horodenka Ruth was
called Rivkah Neigiser. During the years 1917 through 1919, Ruth was a Zionist
and belonged to one of the first Zionist-Socialist youth groups, Ha-Shomer,
which had been established soon after World War One. Therefore, it is no
wonder that she showed inclinations toward Israel in general and
toward Horodenka in particular. Her husband, according to friends who knew him
well before he moved to America, always had a strong sense of justice and was
always ready  even if it meant self-sacrifice  to lend a hand and help
those weak and weary, regardless of their political views or opinions. In his
youth in Horodenka, he was active in the establishment of Yiddish kindergartens
and public schools. These schools gave children from families of poor laborers
and unskilled workers a Jewish and general education to help them find their
way out of their depressed cultural condition.

This modest beginning was the foundation from which Abba Podway and his
right arm, Rivkah-Ruth, grew to become renowned non-partisan social
activists. Many changes, no doubt, occurred in their life-style and customs,
during all those years when they struggled to rebuild their life in the United
States; but to this day, their Jewish-national inclinations have not changed.
Those inclinations led to their active participation in many projects and
enterprises that were carried out by American Jewry since the establishment of
Israel. To that point, their first visit to Israel was with the
Volunteers of the Histadruth Fund from the United States.

As a result of Ruth and Abba Podway's first visit to Israel, there was a
complete turnaround in the relationship between Horodenka organizations in the
United Sates and those in Israel. It was now possible to fulfill our
obligation to the families that were destroyed in the Holocaust. I would like
to express my hope that the cooperation between us will not end upon the
publication of this book and hope the friendly relationship between the two
organizations will continue.

Immediately after our first meeting with the Podways, we felt their strong
desire to do something to benefit the Horodenka people in Israel. During the
three weeks of their first visit we talked a lot about our problems and at the
end we decided to establish Kehilyah  a foundation to give
financial help and loans to survivors of Horodenka living in Israel. The
Podways personally gave the first donation to the foundation and later gave
additional amounts for its growth. Additional funds were also received from
their friends and acquaintances, especially from Mr. Abba Kremer. Details
about Kehilyah are included in the concise financial report that I presented in
one of the yearly memorial meetings for the victims of Horodenka.

The establishment of Kehilyah in 1958 was only the first link in a chain of
activities that the Podways arranged on one of their biannual visits to Israel.
Their visit in 1960 became a turning point in the publication of the Yizkor
Book. They were impressed by our story about the deadlocked negotiations with
the Landmanshaft people in the United Sates. They took it upon
themselves to mediate and help us reach an agreement with our Horodenka
brothers and sisters to make the publication of the book possible. The Podways
also committed to take care of the financial problems related to the
publication of the book in the United Sates. Their initial contribution was
more than all the amounts that had been donated by other Horodenkans to date.
It is no secret that we in Israel are not wealthy enough to finance a book that
costs eight thousand dollars (close to 18,000 shekels) to publish.

When the Podways returned to the United States, they established a committee
for the publication of the Yizkor Book. We began a constant correspondence.
Before long, it became clear to everyone that the apprehensions of both sides
were very exaggerated and that actually the differences in opinion were not so
great. For fear that the renewed effort to accomplish the task would fail
again, each side behaved cautiously and therefore we managed to solve the major
problems effortlessly.

In addition to correspondence during the past two years, we also had the
opportunity to meet with important members of the [Horodenka] committee from
the United States who came to Israel as official or unofficial representatives.
First to arrive was Mr. Leibala Koch, an exceptional Jew who for years had
been a philanthropist supporting a number of needy families in Israel through
his private anonymous charitable foundation. (He is far from wealthy and takes
no public credit). A few months later Harry Eckhaus arrived. He is a
businessman and a member of the committee in the United States. Together we
resolved a few problems concerning the publication of the book. I must note
that there were members of our committee who could not easily understand the
other side. I do not intend to dwell on details, but it is
important for me to mention it as one of the many difficulties and obstacles
that we had to overcome. Mr. Eckhaus' visit was also crucial for another
reason. The amount of money that he brought from the United States enabled us
to begin our task and gave us assurance that there would be no financial
obstacles in publishing the book.

A few months following Eckhaus' visit, Mr. Hass and his wife arrived for a
visit to Israel. Mr. Hass is a long time member of the Progressive Horodenka
Association in the United States and served as its director for a period of
time. A reception was given to each of these guests by our organization and by
the Yizkor-Book Committee. By the time each of the guests left Israel, they
all had become loyal friends of our project and our organization.

Up to this point, I have tried to describe the sequence of events that led to
the publication of the Yizkor Book. Now permit me to say a few words about the
book itself. The first task was to find a suitable editor. Unfortunately, we
could not find the right person among the Horodenkans. With sheer
luck, and I am using the word luck in its simplistic
meaning and not as a metaphor, we succeeded in getting the poet Shimshon
Meltzer to agree to be the editor of the Horodenka Book.

We are confident that we could not have chosen a better editor, as Meltzer is
known as one of the best in Israel. We could rest assured that by entrusting
him with the editing of the book we would get more than we had hoped for. The
close collaboration between him and our members, who are the true
authors of the book, enabled us to properly plan the memorial for our martyrs
that were murdered and for our community that was eradicated.

In addition to his literary talent, Meltzer is, in a certain way, one of the
Horodenka people. Not only was he born in Tluste, which is on the outskirts of
Horodenka, but a year prior to his emigration to Israel he and his wife lived
in Horodenka where he worked as a teacher in the Hebrew School. Therefore, his
descriptions of the town, its roads, its people, and its atmosphere are
authentic and accurate.

As mentioned above, we succeeded with the selection of the editor. However,
the quality of the book is not determined just by the editor but also by the
material presented to the editor. Here we suffered a disadvantage, since
during the Holocaust Nazi oppressors murdered many of Horodenka's Jewish
intellectuals who would have contributed greatly to this book. Their
testaments were buried with those of blessed memory.

That dwindling of collective memories is evident in many chapters of the book.
On one hand many of the events of the past were not included, since those
elders who could tell about them have long since passed away. Thus we lacked
information about the different organization and institutions in our town
during the years just before the Holocaust. We did our best to collect as much
material as possible. We hereby present to the public a book that was written
by the survivors of our town, with all its imperfections. The public will read
it and form an opinion for better or for worse.

We took upon ourselves the distinct responsibility of publishing a list of the
Holocaust victims from our vicinity who were killed in different Actions.
Here, too, we faced questions that required the full cooperation of the
Horodenka survivors. During the past two years we took every opportunity to
appeal to the Horodenkans in Israel and in the United Sates to request lists of
their loved ones or acquaintances who perished in the Holocaust. Indeed, we
managed to compile a long list based primarily on the recollections of the
survivors. Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be errors, inaccuracies
and omissions. In spite of this, we felt that it was our holy duty to publish
such a list even if it is incomplete.

I feel myself obligated to add some explanations and to apologize to a lot of
people who participated in the writing of the material for the Horodenka book.
I would like to reiterate what we said and emphasized in every meeting. Each
member was free to write about whatever he or she desired, but we were not
obligated to publish his or her material unedited. We stated that the
editorial board together with the editor would have the final authority to
decide what to print. We were also obligated to check all the facts and dates
in the manuscripts and to make changes. We did all we could and hope that we
succeeded in avoiding mistakes.

In some cases we copied into this book paragraphs and chapters from a variety
of sources like chapters from A. Granach's book and a poem by M. Birenboym. We
thank all whose permission enabled us to do so.

I would also like to mention the enormous and important work that was done by
groups of volunteers in Israel and in the United States. These volunteers
spent hours, weeks and months of their free time, neglecting their own personal
matters. I would very much like to express my gratitude to these people in the
name of the Organizations in Israel and in the United Sates and say:
Yishar Kochachem! (May your strength remain with you forever!)

The most difficult time was the last few months before the publication of the
book. We worked zealously to be able to finish in time. In this period we
faced complicated problems that we could not have foreseen. It is quite
possible that some of them arose from our wish to finish this work in November
of 1962, which was within two years of commencement of work on the book. In
addition we wanted to include Ruth and Abba Podway in the book's publication
ceremony before their November 18th departure to the United States.

I would like to point out that during the last two years, many members of the
small committee in Israel helped me, as primary person in charge, in the
process of publishing the yizkor book. They are: Nachman Bergman, Yosef
Yanker, Tzvi Marksheid, Yitzchak Rauchwerger, Zelig Shchory, Moshe (Monya)
Stachel, Gavriel Lindenberg and Itschak Shapira. The last two were also
members of the editorial board in which Joshua Streit and Moshe Stachel
participated. Additionally, our friend Gavriel Lindenberg was largely
responsible for the preparation of the material for the memorial book.

Through the entire process, and especially at the end, Gavriel worked
tirelessly preparing the material for editing by typing, doing adaptations,
translations and proof reading. People close to Lindenberg and who are
familiar with his work complimented him on his ability, his dedication and
diligence. I have known him for years and have been working with him in the
organization for Horodenka survivors and in the management of Kehilyah. I have
also worked with him on this book. I respectfully join them with my own
compliments.

Additionally, I would like to commend the hard work and the dedication of the
members of the American committee of our organization. I want to bring to your
attention these people: Izador Oringer, Mo Nadler, Izik Fink (the secretary of
the book committee in the United States), Sam Kirshner, Mendel Rozenkranz, Izik
Shechter and Zelig Shpierer.

In light of the important task that we accomplished, it is my pleasure to note
that all of our members, who were called upon to assist us in our work,
fulfilled their obligation with commendable dedication. I express my deepest
gratitude to both organizations in the United States and in Israel. I also
want to thank two enterprises for their big help in the printing of the
Horodenka Book: Achduth cooperative print in Tel-Aviv and United
Graphic Corporation Ltd. in Tel Aviv. They guided me in the preparation of the
galleys and we benefited from their unusual attention.

It is worth briefly reviewing the actions of the Organization of the
Survivors of Horodenka and the Vicinity in Israel during the twelve years
of its existence. I would like to do so by quoting from a report given at a
memorial meeting on December 15, 1957. At that meeting, Moshe Fleshner, the
director of the organization read the report and Yitzchak Shapira eulogized the
community that was destroyed. A few guests from abroad and a few newly arrived
immigrants also attended the meeting. Later they all expressed their happiness
that they were once again among the community of Horodenka people.

[Page 9]

Report on the Organization's Activities

(Given at the Yikzkor Meeting on December 15, 1957)

By Moshe Fleshner

It is twelve years now that our organization, The Organization for the
Survivors of Horodenka and Its Vicinity has existed. The active members
are interested in achieving three goals. First we want to commemorate the
memory of the martyrs of our town by having a Memorial Day each year around the
time of the first Action in Horodenka; by planting trees in Yaar
Hakdoshim (Forest of the Martyrs); by establishing a memorial tablet in
the Holocaust Cellar; and by publishing a memorial book in memory
of the town's martyrs. Second we want to provide financial help to Horodenkans
who immigrated to Israel after the Holocaust. Lastly, we want to establish a
relationship between the Horodenkans in Israel and those abroad.

During the twelve years of its existence, our organization has succeeded in
accomplishing some of these goals. Once a year we hold a memorial meeting at
which Horodenkans meet and remember together their loved ones that were killed
in the Holocaust. We established a memorial in the form of a forest Yar
Kdoshem Polin (The forest of the Polish Martyrs) in the Martyrs' Forest
planted by the Jewish National Fund in the Jerusalem mountains. We held
discussions with the directors of Martef ha-Shoah (The Holocaust
Cellar) regarding the establishment of a memorial tablet to be placed among the
other tablets that are on the walls in memory of the Holocaust victims of
Polish communities. But our main mission  publication of the book in memory
of the victims of our town  is still before us. We have not been able to
overcome all the obstacles standing in our way. Nevertheless we have not given
up and we are confident that a day will come when we will be able to add this
last link to the chain of events done in memory of the martyrs of our town.

We have made some progress in extending help to the survivors that have come to
Israel. This accomplishment was a result of the visit of the Podway family to
Israel last summer. They helped initiate and fund Kehilyah  a fund for the
Horodenka survivors. Horodenkans living in Israel and landsmenshaft
in the United Sates also made contributions. During its short existence, the
fund has dispersed loans to new immigrants and to residents in the sum of a few
thousand lirot. Some of these loans have already been repaid.

We must acknowledge that the assistance given by Kehilyah did not solve all
the financial problems for those who are in need, but it did provide assistance
to those needing to obtain apartments, etc. We now call upon the Horodenkans
who live in Israel to join the fund by making financial contributions to
increase its capital.

Our third goal was to nurture relations among the people of our town living in
Israel and abroad. We tried to do this by arranging special parties and group
meetings during the holidays and during visits of guests from abroad. Many of
our members took advantage of these gatherings and had a good time.

Before I proceed with our program, I would like to wish a speedy recovery to
one of the Horodenkan elders, Mr. Yosel Bergman who is bedridden. This is the
first time that he won't be attending the memorial meeting. In the name of all
those present here tonight, we wish him a speedy and complete recovery and
express our hopes that we will have the privilege to see him among us at future
meeting.

As we do every year, let us remember the members of our organization who died
in the last year. I'm asking the audience to respect their memory by standing.
There names are: Eliezer Fridler, Mati Shertzer, Uritza Frishling, Henya Rubel
(mother of the Langshtein family in Israel), and Feiga Foler. Two family
members of our friends also passed away: Ataliya Lindenberg, wife of Gavriel
Lindenberg and Shrage Shvartshtein, husband of Haya Shvartz.

May their memories be blessed!

And now I would like to invite our friend, Mr. Yitzhak Shapira, to talk about
the people of Horodenka.

[Page 11]

A Sad Walk Around Our Town

By Yitzchak Shapira

Our human brain cannot comprehend nor grasp how it all happened. The Jewish
nation has never been spoiled by the nations of the world. We have had our
share of pogroms, slaughtering, inquisitions and forced conversions. However
all those dwarf against the terrible holocaust that the Jewish nation faced in
Eastern Europe thirteen, fourteen and fifteen years ago. World history has
never recorded, since creation, such a planned and loathsome murder executed by
military commanders and scientists. These supposed representatives of the
twentieth century, with treacherous sadism, slaughtered, butchered, murdered
and burnt men, women and children. It was done with precision using the
methodology that the German Nazis were known for, and with the full cooperation
of the human filth in all the countries occupied by the Hitler regime. There
is no doubt that a large span of time must pass before the essence of this
immense tragedy and catastrophe, which happened under the sun and in full view
of the entire world's population, can be assessed correctly.

Hertzl, the founder of national Zionism, taught us that a Jewish State will
rise from the adversity of the Jews, and indeed, the State of Israel is today a
reality. But is there a shore to this sea of tribulation, this sea of blood
and tears that were spilled during the massacre of six million Jews in Europe?
There is an old saying that life is more bearable than death, and that every
wound is destined to heal. It is quite possible that in the near future,
students will read in their textbooks, with horror and nausea, about the lowest
depth that human endeavors reached during the war. But we, who are present
here today, the survivors of Horodenka, have cut off limbs that are still
bleeding. We are part of the large body of masses of Beth-Israel, orphans who
lost their fathers and their mothers. Those who are still mourning the death
of brothers and sisters cannot quietly analyze these historical events. For
us, this wound is a reality, a horrible reality.

Our town, Horodenka, blessed be her memory, was pure and righteous, and even
though it was unprogressive compared to some other modern cities, its people
embodied vitality and aspirations. Its Jewish residents were of all races,
classes and ages and possessed an inner soul, for which the Galician people
were known.

I would like you to join me on a short trip in our small town. We will not
travel through each street. Rather our trip will take us to the people who
lived there and to their places of work. It will be a kind of
socio-demographic trip. I would like to ask forgiveness from all the young
people here, those who were born after the period that I have chosen to discuss
tonight. It is the period that immediately followed World War I, a period that
was extremely crucial for our town. It was a period in which nations woke up
and demanded their independence. It was a period of revolution that brought
awakening to our region. It was the period following the Balfour Declaration
when we were occupied first by the Austrians, then the Romanians and
Ukrainians, and among them the Podolians, and later the Polish. I chose this
period, the years of 1920-1930, because I remember it vividly. I visited
Horodenka for a week in 1937. It was a short visit, but I managed to notice
that nothing much had changed. I met the same people, and more or less, life
seemed to be the same as when I left the city in 1925.

Now I would like to relate my memories of our families who were from various
social classes. It is possible that many of the sons and daughters of these
families may live differently than their parents, but none-the-less, the
ethical values remain the same for generations. The fruit usually represents
the tree. When I look here at the faces of these youngsters, I recall what
their parents looked like when they were young and how they conducted
themselves.

First on our tour of Horodenka, we will pass by the schools. Among them is the
Yiddish high school, and most importantly the Hebrew high school, which was
responsible for generations of students who spoke and understood Hebrew. Those
schools produced the pioneers and first settlers who went to Israel in pursuit
of their dreams.

Let us now pass by the heders (the little schools). If you close
your eyes you will surely remember the different rabbis and the heders of that
period. We can remember the more modern heders where the Bible was
taught with interpretation. There were also conservative heders where the
Rabbi waving a belt was the last word together with his counterparts: the
Rebetzen with her hard heart, and her group of strict assistants.

From there, let us proceed to the many synagogues in our town. First let us
enter into the primary synagogue that was destroyed in the first invasion
during World War I. Later there were efforts made to rebuild it. I remember,
and surely some of you remember this huge synagogue with its precious
caretaker, Dudi Zelner. All of us heard the pounding of his hammer that woke
up the town's people to do God's work. I remember how during Kol Nidre night
he watched Pietro, the Sabbath Goy, who tended the crowded Yortzeit candles
making sure they didn't bend over or die out prematurely, God forbid.

On both sides of the synagogue there were two areas that were crowded with
worshippers saying their prayers and entreaties in competition with those
inside the large synagogue.

And close by stood the seminary where a group of important scholars, headed by
Rabbi Ashkenazi, my he rest in peace, gathered. Rabbi Ashkenazi was one of the
most learned rabbis in Galicia. He was an incredible scholar with a very sharp
mind.

And let me briefly mention all the Kloyzen (clubs), old and new, which were
named after the different Rabbis according to their associations and religious
affiliations. There was Yad Chrutzin and Tzyonistisher Farain, the cradle of
Zionism in Horodenka. It was the spring from which we quenched our thirst for
Aliyah to Israel. Let me also mention the ha-Hitachdut and the Bond, which
inspired the establishment of such organizations as ha-Shomer, he-Chlutz,
Gordoniah and he-Chlutz haTzair. There were also the national funds such as
LiterarisheTzirklen and the dramatic clubs, including one at the warm and
pleasant house of our friend Hesel Suka.

Our town was blessed with a variety of believers and apikoroses. I
remember one of them vividly, but I won't mention his name. He was an avid
learner and a sharp scholar, but an apikoros by choice. He used to
brag about the fact that when he wrote letters of the Sabbath, he started with
the words Today is the holy Sabbath .

Let me list the many avid students of the Mishnah. I will mention only those
who were prominent among those scholars: Hayim Shnitzer, Meir Shlaam, Shlomo
Shtreit, and Yehiel Rozenberg. And last, but not least, my father, who first
had the title of Dayan u-Moreh Tzedek (Judge and Righteous
Teacher), and who, after the death of Rabbi Ashkenazi, was promoted to the head
of the Rabbinical court.

Our town did not have many religious functionaries because we were not a
wealthy community. But we had many who served God faithfully. Let me remind
you that during the Days of Awe, Sabbaths at the synagogues, and the three
feasts many minyamim gathered in different locations and sang the Zmirot.
Again let me mention some names to refresh our memories. Ma'chale Vaves,
Shimshale Minitzer, Shlomo-Hayim, also known as Der Nayer Shochet, and his
wife's delicious Harazaveh Bretlac.

For those of you who did not attend the three feasts to elevate the
soul and to hear the Zmirot, let me mention those Ba'ale Tefila (cantors) who
filled the synagogues with beautiful voices. I will mention, in one long
breath, just a few of a long list who chanted during morning and evening
prayers: Moti Sukar, Berl Zeifer, Shlomo Greitzer, Shalom Hirsh Fink, with his
wonderful voice, Isaac Meltzer, Yosi Shapira, cantor of the Central synagogue
for Kotokivka, and the Schecter brothers, Anchel and Notzya.

I don't want to discriminate against those people who achieved higher academic
education and who practiced in our town periodically. We were very proud of
them. I am not going to mention their names, but let me announce them by
profession: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, magistrates, lawyers, and the judge
Rathoizer. There were also world-renowned artists like Alexander Granack and
Rana Pfeifer.

Though Horodenka was not an academic town with many scientists, all its Jewish
residents were hard working people who labored and did everything possible to
enable their children to learn the Torah and the mitzvot. They got up early in
the morning to work, both in the summer and in the harsh winter. A few were
rich, many could barely make a living, but all of them did their best to
educate us, their children, who are here today.

Again I am not going to mention names, but let me give you a list of the
various occupations. I am sure that you will recall who did what.

Let me begin with the foods that were sold by our residents either wholesale or
retail: herring, petroleum, sugar and salt, flour and sweets. Other people
worked in lumber and iron, confectionery and manufacturing, shoes and hats,
leather, fur wool, fabrics and upholstery. Other merchants sold soaps,
shoeshine, resin for carts, plaster, tar, candles, or books.

I would like to mention now those righteous and devoted Jewish women at the
apples market, and those vendors who sold kvasnitzes.
I remember how they bent over their stands during the summer with no protection
from the scorching sun and how they were bundled with layers of clothing during
the harsh winters, warming themselves over the fire top which was
by their feet.

Let me also mention those in our town who had vocations. These included rope
makers, meat butchers, blacksmiths with their metal tables, tailors, carpenters
including those who built coffins for the Christians. There was also the
Russian carpenter who was probably as good if not better than the
best of the carpenters in Horodenka. Let me mention the watchmakers and the
fur makers and finally coachmen with their carts and wagons, the insurance
agents and mechanics. These are just a few of the trades of Horodenkans.

And among those with other talents, let me mention the artisans. There was
Valul Greinberg, a mechanical engineer who was well known and respected in the
community, together with his children. Almost equal to him, Dodi Meltzer, was
a first-class artist and painter.

I did not know many builders, but I can see in front of me the image of the
respected Baruck-Leib Greidiner.

All those I mentioned above, including their families, are no longer among the
living.

Before I complete this review of the people of our town by mentioning those
good people living in the surrounding areas, let me mention briefly the
financiers and economists. At the top of the ladder those who accumulated
property and wealth included Alter and Shmuel Yungerman, Yosel Zeifer, Berl
Shfirer, Yosel Zeidman, and Rubel Shlomoh Pa'al. Right behind them were the
owners of the quarries and the flourmills, both big and small.

I would like to end this tour with a description of hundreds of Jews that lived
in villages around Horodenka. They were observant Jews that labored tirelessly
in order to provide food and shelter for their families in the hope that their
children would not follow in their footsteps but would rise above the level of
education that the village could offer them. They sent their children to
schools in the city, to high schools and universities if they were able to pull
their finances together. When their children were still young, these parents
summoned Yeshivah students from the city to serve as temporary teachers even if
only for one or two lessons. I remember these young teachers. I also remember
that those Jews who lived in distant villages would invite Jews who were single
to come and join them for a minyan. During the High Holidays they would
invite Ba'ale Tefilah to conduct the services. I even remember how during
harsh weather conditions, those Jews risked their lives to go to town in order
to purchase kosher flour for Passover, or to buy the four kinds of branches for
Sukkot. And I remember the utmost dedication and devotion they exhibited
towards the lulav and the ethrog by placing them on a bed of straw so that, God
forbid, the pittam wouldn't break off.

I remember clearly, as if it were engraved in my mind, how all those Jews did
whatever they could to keep the purity of the family intact, according to their
understanding of Jewish laws. Every Sunday evening, they would sit in their
wagons, in front of the Mikveh and wait for their wives who went to purify
themelves. It was an act of dedication for one's belief. These were the
efforts of Jews to maintain their Jewish identity in those God-forsaken areas
surrounding our city.

I have attempted to depict for you the multiple and colorful facets, both
economic and cultural, of our community. Members of our large community
dispersed to many countries and beyond the great ocean, to North and South
America. The sons and daughters of Horodenka even reached Australia. However,
the hearts and souls and yearnings of the Jews of Horodenka were directed
towards the land of Israel and its resurrection. Horodenkans sent its pioneers
to Palestine during the various Aliyot with love, a deep longing, and with a
strong spiritual belief in the coming of the liberation and redemption. The
Jews of Horodenka believed that during their lifetime, salvation would come to
Judah, and the family of Israel would dwell peacefully in its land. But
unfortunately most did not live to see the fulfillment of this dream. Their
tears and prayers did not help, their shouts and cries to God did not yield
results. The Nazi savages gathered the Horodenkans during the first, second
and third Actions, in the synagogue or fields, they torturing and murdering
them in the most sadistic ways. And God looked down from the sky and saw how we
were ridiculed and mocked by the goyim. And in spite of all this, netzah
Israel lo yeshaker (your name we did not forget.).

To all the holy and pure men, women, and children that were murdered and burned
in Nazi Europe:

May their names be remembered for ever and ever;

May their memory be praised and be written
in the book of Life of the Nation of Israel and among the holy ones of the wars
of the Hashmonaim, (aseret hajruge malhut), the brave men of Zahal, and the
slain of Sinai.

Let their names adorn the resurrection of
Israel in its land.

[Page 14]

Upon the Publication of this Book

By Shimshon Meltzer

ITluste (Tolstoe), my birth town, is situated between Chortkov to the north and
Zaleshchiki to the south. Officially Tluste belongs to Zaleshchiki where the
Starusta, the place where the pub owners went to renew their liquor licenses,
was located. But spiritually it belongs to Chortkov, where people drove to
seek advice from the Rabbi. They sought the Rabbi's blessings for a good
livelihood, a comfortable life and for sons who would always live by the Torah.
These two towns seemed to me, a boy of five years, like two distant legends
and as two promises for the future. I hoped that when I grew up, I would have
the good fortune to see them.

Unexpectedly, the big war broke out and we were exiled from our town. Thus the
first big town that I finally saw was neither Chortkov nor Zaleshchiki but
Horodenka. The escape took place on foot on a Saturday morning. My brother
pushed a loaded stroller with big wheels as we climbed up the hill to
Ryzhanovka, And I, the youngest of them all, lagged behind, trying to catch up.

In Ishtichka, which is on the banks of the Dniester, the escapees stopped to
rest. Jews wrapped in Talitot prayed in a minyan near the big river and among
the towering trees of the forest. Daring young men tried to cross the river by
climbing on top of burned logs that moved like fast cats. Those logs had been
the pillars that until recently supported the bridge that crossed the river.

Late Saturday night, the retreating Austrian army arrived with its wagons.
They tied rafts together to make a long bridge and we all crossed the river.
On the other side the rafts were loaded back on the wagons, upside down, to let
the escapees hide beneath them. In the chill of the night the caravan made its
way in the dark, in swaying wagons, up the hill from the Dniester. When the
first ray of sun lit the horizon we arrived in Horodenka.

Three things were inscribed in my child's memory from the sights of those days.

A wagon with a large metal barrel was rolling down the street as it sprinkled
water across the dusty road to prevent dust from rising. Miracle of miracle
 this was the first miracle of modern technology I ever witnessed.

On Rosh ha-Shanah people prayed in a home. The road to the house went up a
steep hill. On the right it climbed up and on the left it went down. I had to
be careful of how I climbed or I would stumble and fall, God forbid, down,
down, down. Many years later when I was a teacher in Horodenka, I went to look
for that terrible hill  but I could not find it. What seemed like a
mountain in my childhood, was probably a small hill. No wonder I could not
locate it.

The third miracle occurred while our family was staying in a house that
belonged to a large family. I was surprised to see that the man of the house,
his wife and his children sleeping on the floor next to our family, while no
one slept on the two beds in the room. Later I understood the reason why. It
has a positive and a negative side. The owner was concerned that we might ruin
his mattress and sheets. But, while we were there he wanted us to feel at home,
so he and his wife and children joined us sleeping on the floor.

That was my flight from Tluste into the world and Horodenka was the
first stop. And perhaps it is not a coincidence that after wandering across
villages and cities throughout the country, Horodenka was also my final stop in
the Diaspora before immigrating to the land of Israel. My wife and I spent
only one year there  in fact, only ten months  but we managed to fall in
love with that town: its landscape; its surroundings; and its people;
especially the young people, and their endless activities; and our students.
Those students came to our school in the afternoon after hours in the public
schools to learn Torah for the sake of the land of Israel.

It was our first year of being together and, as it is for many young couples,
one of the most beautiful. The snow song will ever remind us of
those days. We had only a small flat with one room but it was large enough for
us, a young couple. We had different styles of old furniture, everything was
temporary, for only one year. Glass windows surrounded a small balcony. White
curtains were put up and everything glowed in the brightness of winter. How
pleasant it was.

Our apartment was in Mrs. Schwartz's house, across from the Pobiat house. I
used to walk to school from that house not through the main street, but through
the kapandreyah, a beautiful small park. (For some reason, none of the writers
in this book mention that park, but I feel that I need to mention it because I
spent many wonderful hours of reading there.) A chicken coop stood in a hidden
corner of that park. Inside that coop was a large eagle with large wings. He
was locked inside. One of his wings was broken. He used to extend the healthy
wing and wave it up and down, hitting the metal bars as if he was ready to take
off. Meanwhile his broken wing was dangling behind and getting dirty with his
droppings. I don't know whatever happened to that eagle. I always wondered
why the Polish people let the eagle remain in that coop. After all it is the
symbol of their country. To me, it always symbolized the Jewish eagle, one of
the four beasts described in Ezekiel. And furthermore, there is the eagle that
belonged to Yehuda Ben-Time, as mentioned at the end of the Pirke Avot:
Be mighty as a tiger, light as an eagle, fast as a deer and strong as a
lion to follow the will of your Father in heaven. And the will of our Father
in heaven is that every young Jew will leave the Diaspora and emigrate to the
land of Israel.

We didn't have a lot of belongings to take with us from Horodenka at the end of
the school year. Everything went into a small peasant cart that took us to
Tluste for a short stop before emigrating. Mrs. Schwatz, the owner of the
house, treated us to a lavish farewell breakfast. When we left the house we
were confronted with our students standing around the cart, crying and sobbing.
Many of them had become our friends by then as they were not much younger than
we were. The sight of our students crying with their wet cheeks was the best
gift we could have gotten. It was the soul that we found in Horodenka.

Shalom, shalom and see you soon they shouted as the cart began to
disappear up the road. Years later we were fortunate to meet with a few of
them that had survived. Those few remind us of that beautiful year of love.
Two of the female students still send us greeting cards from across the ocean.

Thus, I became a citizen, or shall we say half a citizen of Horodenka.

Intermittently for two whole years I have labored over the editing of the
Horodenka Book. For two years the atmosphere of my adopted birthplace
surrounded me. And I was constantly surprised by the quality of the articles
that I was getting. As the verse in the Psalm reads: Your forehead is
like a sliver of pomegranate, and our sages explained it as even
those empty people among you are full like a pomegranate with mitzvot and good
deeds. This saying applies to Israel as a whole and to Horodenka in
particular. Even the simple people among us, those who never saw themselves as
writers or scribes and even those with little education, who set out to write
their memories for the first time in their lives, displayed their ability to
express themselves by about incidents in their lives  incidents filled with
feelings and deep perceptions.

I made it a rule not to overedit. However I corrected the language, the
grammar and the spelling. I let each one of the stories speak for itself in
its own unique way. I also did not delete complete segments that had already
been told by others, even though the many repetitions increased the size of
this book. I wanted to give each of the storytellers the opportunity to tell
about the town, the people, their deeds and their destiny, in his or her own
unique way. We don't really know how important our task is and what it will
mean in the future. Perhaps it is the last meeting place of all the
eye-witnesses to the events of those days, or perhaps it is the last grand
gathering of all the Horodenkans who witnessed the building and the destruction
of their town. As the editor of this book, I did not have, God forbid, the
right to edit and chop these collected stories.

In his introduction, our friend, Moshe Fleshner has already told about the
origin of this book and the work of the different committees. He also thanked
and blessed all those who financed it and contributed their time and effort to
see this book published and indeed they deserve the thanks. Since I was also
editing his introduction I found it flattering to read that the Horodenkans
were lucky to find such an editor as me. I deleted some of the praises and the
compliments, for modesty sake. On the other hand I left a few compliments in
order not to deny myself the truth. I couldn't say for a fact that I was the
best editor the Horodenkans could have found, but I will affirm that I did the
job with dedication and a warm heart as if I were editing a book, which hasn't
been done yet, about my hometown Tluste.

In addition, the Horodenkans treated me with respect and trust. The meetings
with the editorial committee were more like a gatherings of old friends. I
would like in particular to mention the names of two men with whom I was
constantly in touch: Moshe Fleshner and Gavriel Lindenberg.

This man, Moshe, was the moving spirit of this book, the engine who kept this
complex apparatus in motion, the publisher, the director, the treasurer, the
carrier and the courier. It would be impossible to calculate the amount of
energy, time and dedication that he exerted to see this book published.
Without his effort, I doubt it if would have happened. He was crazy
about it in the good sense of the word and deserves to be called
the father of this book.

And the man, Gavriel, as distinguished from the angel Gabriel, who always
stands on Man's left side  my Gavriel stood to my right to do any labor,
light or hard. And in contrast to an angel that does not perform two tasks
simultaneously, my Gavriel performed multiple tasks simultaneously. He wrote a
tractate to be proud of and rewrote articles written by others. He copied and
translated from one language to another, from Yiddish to Hebrew and vice versa,
and he did it magnificently. Without his effort, chances are that the book
wouldn't have been published on time or in as complete a form as it is.

It is a sad, draining and depressing task to write, edit and publish a book,
which serves only as a headstone for a thriving Jewish community that is no
longer in existence. But as the Jewish phrase goes: There's 'luck' in
'unlucky'. Not all the descendents of towns in Europe that were
destroyed are so eager to commemorate them in writing, and establish a memorial
for Jewish generations to come.

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